


In Love

by deathishauntedbyhumans



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff, Gender Neutral Pronouns for Apprentice, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Multi, POV Multiple, POV Third Person Limited, Polyamory, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, give me a poly route or give me death, let everyone be in love 2k18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 05:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16804237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathishauntedbyhumans/pseuds/deathishauntedbyhumans
Summary: Julian loves Asraandthe apprentice. The apprentice loves JulianandAsra. Asra loves his apprenticeandJulian. It’s a mess (or is it?)





	In Love

“You’re in love with Asra,” the apprentice states matter-o-factly one night, curled up against Julian in the bed above their shop. Julian balks immediately at the question, his entire body jerking and then going stiff. He hadn’t been obvious, had he? There hadn’t been _signs,_ had there? The gods forbid he do anything to make his lover angry, but he couldn’t _help_ his feelings! His damned, damned feelings—

“Julian.” Their voice brings him back, grounds him. Steady, gentle hands rub up his back before one cups his chin and forces him to look up. “Stop thinking. I’m not angry.”

One look into his love’s eyes proves as much. Julian gazes at them desperately, and they smile at him as their thumb traces his lower lip with a soft touch.

“Are you in love with Asra?” It’s a question, this time, and the apprentice asks it without judgement. Slowly, despite his misgivings, Julian finds himself nodding his head. He can’t help the shame the roils through him, hot and hateful, but the apprentice leans in and brushes their lips against his own, just barely catching their own thumb in the process.

“Are you in love with me?” they ask, pulling back again, and Julian’s breath catches in his throat. He knows he won’t be able to speak if he tries, so he just blinks and nods again. Under the blanket, he knows his hands are trembling.

The apprentice doesn’t look surprised, but they _do_ look pleased. They’re practically _glowing_ , Julian observes. How someone so beautiful could ever want to be tied to someone as pathetic as himself, he would never understand.

“Would you like to hear a secret?” they murmur, leaning in again to kiss feather-light kisses against his jaw. Julian doesn’t have a hope of responding, and he’s pretty sure the apprentice knows as much, because there’s a smile in their voice when they reach his ear and whisper, “I’m in love with you, too.” They nibble his earlobe and Julian gasps at the unexpected pressure of teeth against sensitive skin.

The apprentice releases their hold and nudges at Julian softly, and Julian lets them move, lets them flip him onto his back so that they can lie atop him and press him into the softness of the mattress.

Julian whispers their name reverently without meaning to and they laugh softly.

“Can I tell you another secret?” they ask, shifting around until they’re chest-to-chest with Julian, forehead leaning against his own.

“Yes?” Julian breathes.

They cup Julian’s face with both of their hands. “I’m a little bit in love with Asra, too.”

The admission isn’t as jarring as Julian might’ve expected it to be. After all, Asra is a beautiful creature, borne of fire and water and something not quite of the earth. There isn’t anyone Julian would expect to escape hold from such a siren, and his love is no exception. In fact, any surprise Julian feels stems more from the fact that, despite all of Asra’s charm, the apprentice has decided to love _Julian_ as well.

“Oh,” Julian whispers. The apprentice tilts their head back, just enough so they can look down at him without going cross-eyed.

“Is that okay?” they ask, voice suddenly much more serious. It’s lost the light, flirtatious tone it had previously held, and Julian feels a sunlit warmth blossom in his chest at his love’s concern.

“Yes,” Julian says definitely. He’s surprised to find that he means it, but the truth slipping from his lips is made worth it when the apprentice smiles wide and leans in to kiss him properly, even through their grin.

* * *

“You’re in love with Julian,” the apprentice states matter-o-factly one afternoon, sitting at the table in the back of the shop. Asra nearly drops the jar of sage he’s carrying into the room, and the apprentice is up like a shot to steady it, stealing it easily from his loose fingers.

“ _What_?” Asra is positive he heard incorrectly. He knows of his apprentice’s relationship with Ilya, but he has never… pried into it. Sometimes, it is best not to know; it is better for his grieving heart that way, in the long run.

The apprentice sets the jar down in the centre of the table and opens it without hesitation, popping the lid off and handing it back to him. Asra accepts it gingerly.

“You’re in love with Julian,” they repeat, deftly plucking a branch of sage from the jar.

For a moment, Asra wonders if he’s finally gone insane. It’s unlikely, he’ll admit that, but it would make some sort of terrible sense in the grand scheme of things. He’s not certain how much of this thought process shows on his face, but he does see his apprentice glance back at him, sympathy softening their features considerably.

“Asra,” they say, and he sidesteps to the other side of the table, reaching for the sage.

“We have work to do,” he says. If he ignores the words he _knows_ aren’t truly being said, perhaps everything will be fine.

“Did I break you?” they ask, and Asra look at them sharply at the sound of barely-contained amusement in their voice. “You don’t have to act as though it isn’t true. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” When Asra continues to stare, the amused look on their face wavers some, concern beginning to take over. “...Master?”

 _That_ snaps Asra from his confused daze. They only call him ‘Master’ now when they truly feel a need, ever since Asra had expressed his displeasure at the term.

“You asked me if I am in love with Ilya,” Asra states. It’s flat, not a question, but his apprentice nods anyways. “I… do not think answering honestly is something I can do with a clear conscience.”

Relief washes over his apprentice’s face. They drop the sage onto the table and step around it, so that they end up cornering Asra against the opposite wall.

Asra does not often feel like a caged animal, but this is certainly one of those times in which he does.

“You _do_ love him,” they say triumphantly. Slowly, Asra finds himself nodding, compelled to tell the truth by the unrecognisable, fiercely pleased look in his apprentice’s eyes. They crowd him against the wall, slowly laying their hands on his shoulders. Asra hates the immediate compulsion to press into their touch.

“You love me, too,” they say next, and Asra’s heart skips a beat.

He says their name, gets it halfway out of his mouth. They stop him from finishing the word, interrupting him before he can protest whatever they’re planning.

His apprentice is kissing him, and Asra melts immediately into their embrace. Kissing them is like coming home after a long day of travelling through unfamiliar territory, and Asra loses himself in it. Kissing them is a terrible idea, but Asra loses that thought, too. Time seems to stand still.

“I love you both, and both of you are idiots,” they whisper against his lips, finally pulling away just enough to speak the words. Asra comes back to himself to find that he’s wrapped his apprentice tightly in his arms, and when they kiss him again, he can’t find it in himself to even think about letting go.

* * *

“You do realise you could just knock on the door like a person,” the apprentice says, startling Julian into shutting the window too quickly. It slams closed, and the apprentice hides a laugh behind their hand as Julian spins around to face them.

“I… um…” Julian trails off, gaze darting nervously around the room before settling on his lover. “You asked me to come?” he says, instead of responding to the teasing.

“Yes,” they reply. They take his hand, and Julian lets himself be led towards the stairs. “I have a surprise for you.” They glance back at him. “You’re not in trouble, you know,” they add.

“Oh! I… knew that,” Julian says, obviously feigning nonchalance and failing at it. The apprentice doesn’t miss the way his shoulders relax, though, and they squeeze his hand reassuringly as they ascend the stairs.

When they reach the top, Julian stops dead at the sight that greets him. The apprentice takes one look at his face and then turns to take in Asra’s expression. When they find a mirrored faintly-horrified look, they can’t help it: they laugh.

“You set us up?” Julian is the first to speak. He tries to pull his hand away, but the apprentice holds fast, still giggling. “What is this?”

“I should have expected this,” Asra says dryly from his position on the bed. He’s clothed in one of his silken robes that never bothered to stay shut at the chest; the apprentice had hinted at him to wear it until he’d complied and put it on.

“What?” Julian looks to Asra for an explanation, since the apprentice is still laughing. “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Ilya?” Asra’s horrified expression has shifted back to his normal neutral, with a tinge of fondness that the apprentice has come to recognise. “This is what they’ve been working us up to.” When nobody moves, Asra adds a soft huff. “Would you two get over here, then?”

The apprentice finally contains themself enough to drag Julian over to the bed. They ignore his apprehension and tug him with them as they flop down, narrowly avoiding jumping directly on top of Asra in the process.

“I don’t… understand…” Julian protests, but it’s weak, especially when the apprentice squirms until Julian is pressed up in between Asra and themself.

“Hush, you,” they say, kissing his cheek. Julian reddens and glances at Asra—

—who glances towards the apprentice before lightly brushing his lips over Julian’s other cheek.

Julian flushes even more, shutting his eyes tightly.

“ _Now_ , we can all sleep,” the apprentice says smugly, tucking themself into Julian’s side. Julian doesn’t respond, but he relaxes in increments, especially when Asra slings an arm across his stomach in an obvious effort to get comfortable.

When they awaken in the morning, it’s in a heaped pile of warm, contented bodies, with Julian muttering complaints about Asra stealing all the blankets and the apprentice laughing into their pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> Damn the apprentice is a lil shit lmao
> 
> Kudos/comments are love. Come scream at me on tumblr @deathishauntedbyhumans.


End file.
